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I have thought more about the concept of the genealogy escape day that I mentioned yesterday and wondering whether I could achieve the desired effect on a daily basis with a “family history half-hour”.

The desired effect would be to create a space in my life where I could focus purely on my family history. My first thought had been that this was going to be a whole day perhaps once a month, but I wondered if it might be beneficial to create a smaller space but on a more regular basis in the form of a “family history half hour” each weekday.

The principle would be the same, remove all distractions so that I can focus solely on family history. As it would have to be in the evening after work some discipline would be required on my part not to get distracted by everything else going on. However by having that time set aside would hopefully encourage me to get everything else done before the half hour began.

Once the half hour began I would have to learn to ignore my emails or Google Reader, I don’t need to check them that often anyway) and I am sure there isn’t really any need to check for any breaking news in that half hour or to see if the weather forecast has changed dramatically or if there is anything I just have to have on eBay. All these things I waste my precious time on when I should be concentrating on family history.

The exact start of my half hour might not be fixed and of course once I get started it might be difficult stop. Also it doesn’t mean that I won’t be doing family history at other times of the day, but I would hope that a specific half hour would help me focus and achieve more. I will let you know how it goes…

One Response to “Time for a family history half hour?”

Good luck with your family history half-hour. Perhaps having a designated time would help me… all too often mine is done bleary eyed in front of the computer late night. I really look forward to one day having a ‘genealogy holiday’ to do some research in the UK, visit with newly-found family and to tour the villages and towns of my ancestors.